The kidnappers who abducted 20 potential National Youth Service Corps members on the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State have dropped the ransom they are demanding from N50m to N5m per victim, bringing the total amount down from N1bn to N100m.
This development was as the parents of the victims claimed that the abducted graduates were assaulted by their captors, raising fears over their safety and spurred requests for swift government intervention, says The PUNCH.
One of the affected parents, Alhaja Alimot Akande, who spoke through one of her daughters in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday, said the abductors had been subjecting the victims to physical violence since Friday.
Mr Akande said the drop in ransom had not relieved the families’ anxiety as the victims were still in captivity and were reportedly being brutalised.
“The kidnappers had dropped their demand from N50m per victim to N5m per victim,” she claimed.
They are still pushing for N5m. “They have dropped to N5m per each.
The potential Corps members were on Thursday heading from Ibadan to their NYSC orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom states when gunmen ambushed the two buses hauling them around Umunoha on the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Imo State.
Some of the names revealed by the parents are Makinde Mary Oluwapelumi, Akande Kehinde Morufat, Abdul Temiloluwa Sarah, Adeniran Mariam Olulola, Adefioye Ayomide Isaac, Adewale Paul Iyanuoluwa and Oyede Esther Funmilayo.
The parents gave the names during a visit to the private residence of the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Ladoja, in Bodija, Ibadan North Local Government Area, on Saturday.
The parents also debunked allegations that 10 passengers were rescued by security officers following the attack, stating those who fled ran into the jungle.
Isiah Akpan, the Managing Director, Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, had confirmed the first N50m ransom demand per victim to our correspondent on Friday. Geographic Reference
Akande said she could not confirm how much the families had raised in ransom, adding she was not part of the arrangement between the kidnappers and the other parents.
“I can’t say because I don’t know how much they have told those people they have,” she said.
“It’s been horrible, scary and overwhelming,” she added of the situation.
She said it became more frightening when she learned that the kidnappers had began hitting the victims.
“Sir we appeal to the government at all levels to please come to our aid and help us to rescue them out of that place. “They have been beating them since yesterday,” she claimed.
Akande added the female corps members were also being assaulted and the kidnappers had no control.
“They’re not sparing anybody. “They are beating everyone.”
She also said one of the abducted corps members was permitted to speak with his father but accused the kidnappers of exploiting the calls to find out how much the family could pay as ransom.
“Whenever the father’s call came, the abductors would inform the victim and allow him to talk because they believed the father could pay the ransom. His father has spoken to him. The kidnappers allow him to have a telephone. Whenever his father calls, they show him that a call came in for you. He would merely say, ‘Oh, that’s my dad.’
“They know money is going to come out of father’s hands so they would just pick it and let him talk. And they have been whipping him. “They have been beating them all.”
The parent stated authorities were giving the families hope that the ransom may be raised when work was ongoing.
“The police are telling us we should still be buying time. Yet we looking for the money. “Depending, they will see them rescued.” she stated.
The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Ladoja, gave the assurance to the parents on Saturday that their children will be recovered unhurt.
“I want to tell you that your children would be rescued safely. We will supply you with all the information we can supply you. Police labour round-the-clock to safeguard their rescue. “Don’t trouble yourself, the police are competent, nothing would happen to your children,” he continued.
Also addressing, the Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Abimbola, said he had contacted his Imo State counterpart and efforts were on course to ensure the victims’ rescue.
“I had already contacted the CP of Imo State. We have been in contact since the day of the incident and he assured me that the victims would be rescued unhurt,” he said.
Suspension Scheme – ADC
Meanwhile, the African Democratic Congress has urged for the suspension of the scheme for one year to enable the federal government to reorganise the program and tighten procedures to safeguard the safety of corps members.
The National Publicity Secretary of the ADC, Bolaji Abdullahi, made the call in an exclusive conversation with our correspondent yesterday.
Abdullahi noted that the NYSC was still essential to national unity but contended that the present security situation necessitated the interim suspension and revision of the initiative.
“I believe the NYSC remains relevant. But I think we have to respond to the present condition of insecurity in the country.
If we were to advise the President, we feel this is the time to suspend it for at least one year to enable room for thorough reform, in such a way that it will protect the young people and also make the scheme worthwhile for them. Executive Branch
In addition, it is a highly essential strategy for national unity building. The problems the NYSC was founded to solve in 1973, after the Civil War, remain. So we think it remains relevant.
“But we must be responsible. We need to realise that above all it is about other people’s life. He said: “It’s a different country now to what it was many years ago.
Abdullahi also slammed the federal government for insecurity, accusing President Bola Tinubu of blaming security services instead of fixing the loopholes in the nation’s security architecture.
“On the issue of the president blaming the security agencies or anything, the president is blaming the victim, as usual. As well as security personnel are also not well prepared. “They are not properly equipped for this,” he stated.
He wondered how the abductors were able to intercept the prospective corps members despite indications that the area was vulnerable to kidnapping.
He lamented, “If many Corps members can be abducted at once, somebody must have given information to the people that carried out the abduction and no one was able to stop them.”
Abdullahi also slammed President Tinubu’s Independence Day address, saying he did not speak enough on the security situation. Executive Branch
“The president made one single reference to the security situation in the country – not a single word,” he claimed.
He further accused the president of being more interested in the 2027 election than Nigerians in the kidnapping of kidnappers.
The president doesn’t even see it as his responsibility. “He doesn’t care about winning elections. And that’s why everything he did in that speech was to tell us that things had gone extremely well and, therefore, we should vote for him again because now we can enjoy wealth.
‘That was it. He didn’t care about the folks who are in captivity under his supervision. And he doesn’t appear to have been able to do anything about it. Now he is interested exclusively with the election,” he added.
Opposition calls for rescue
The National Democratic Congress and the Labour Party both condemned the abduction and called for the prompt and safe rescue of the potential corps members.
The positions of the NDC National Publicity Secretary, the Osa Director and his Labour Party counterpart, Ken Asogwa, were made known in separate exclusive telephone interviews with The PUNCH on Sunday.
The Director said it was the constitutional duty of the government to protect the lives and property of Nigerians. GeographicReference
“Our children are the future of the country and we should not play with their life and security. “The primary purpose of government as enshrined under section 14(2) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) is the security of lives and property of the citizens,” he said.
The NDC spokesperson called for a complete revamp of the country’s security apparatus.
“The APC government has clearly failed in its primary responsibility to the people. We need to do an urgent surgery to our security architecture. “That can only be done by a government with political WILL,” he remarked.
He added, “Thus the NDC under the leadership of Peter Obi is set to give Nigerians a government that would protect and secure their lives for economic prosperity.”
He also cited the abduction as one of the other indicators of the rising insecurity and what he called the moral rot in the country.
“The abduction of the Corps members is indeed a reflection of the rot in the land. “It is a reflection of the fact that our moral fabrics are at the lowest ebb beyond the perversion of insecurity which is so easily reflected in the crime,” he said.
He said he was afraid the victims could be abandoned like other Nigerians currently held captive.
As we speak, the kidnaped school students in Niger State are still in captivity even as the country appears to have moved on. “I pray Nigeria will not also abandon these innocent corps members, whose only offence was enrolment into the mandatory NYSC scheme,” he stated. Geographic Reference 1.
Asogwa urged the federal government to give priority to the victims’ rescue.
“The same energy the federal government is using to gag the voice of opposition should be used to save the innocent corps members unhurt. “That’s what the state is for,” he replied.
Also, the Social Democratic Party, through its spokesman, Rufus Aiyenigba, branded the abduction as “a shame of a nation.”
“It is a shame of a nation that we have 20 young Nigerians serving their fatherland in the hands of abductors, and N50m ransom is being demanded per abductee,” he stated.
That our security budgets are gigantic yearly yet our military and intelligence systems are unable to remove kidnappers and bandits from our forests is a pointer to the dangerous situation of our homeland security and the necessity of new and modern governance viewpoints.
He urged the government to “aggressively deploy security measures to reverse the alarming trend of abductions across Nigeria, secure citizens and restore public confidence.
“The only way forward for Nigerians to reverse the ugly trend is to vote out this administration given its poor handling of issues particularly in the area of security and welfare of citizens and bring in competent hands like the Adebayo-Bugage team, bubbling with vibrancy, creative ideas and solutions to our national malaise.”
“A federal government led by SDP will definitely come up with practical reforms of the NYSC scheme in a manner that will reduce the associated risks for participants and enhance its mandate delivery beyond the yearly rituals,” he added.
The Young Progressives Party, in its statement, condemned the abduction, characterising it as regrettable and a “painful reminder of the failure of government to adequately address Nigeria’s worsening security challenges.”
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Wale Egbeola-Martins, told our correspondent yesterday that the security situation in the country had reached an alarming level.
“The fact that the abductors are demanding ransom speaks to the dangerous scale of the kidnapping economy and how urgently the government needs to act.
The party asked the President Tinubu led administration to show more capacity and political will to fight insecurity.
“The government can’t just keep reacting to kidnappings after the fact, it needs to create intelligence-led, preventative security measures that make kidnapping more and more difficult and unprofitable. “If the government continues to fail in its basic duty of protecting lives and property, Nigerians will have the chance to pass their verdict at the ballot box in 2027,” the image maker of the YPP added.
The YPP, although acknowledging that the NYSC was long overdue for extensive change, noted that the scheme was designed for a different era and that its aims “must now be reimagined to reflect the realities and needs of contemporary Nigeria.” GeographicReference
The party claimed the initiative should become more creative and entrepreneurship-driven instead of deploying young graduates to distant and often turbulent places and putting them at unnecessary security risks.
The Seyi Makinde Allied Peoples Movement 2027 Presidential Campaign Council also urged President Bola Tinubu to take urgent steps to rescue the abducted corps members.
In a statement signed by the council’s Director of Strategic Communications, Richard Ihediwa, the council called on the President as Commander-in-Chief to ensure the safe and unconditional release of the victims.
The council also appealed for renewed efforts to rescue other Nigerians kidnaped in Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Borno and other parts of the country.
The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organization said, “The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organization calls on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to live up to his billing as Commander-in-Chief and bring back the prospective National Youth Service Corps members abducted in Imo State on Independence Day.
Similarly, the MDPCO urged President Tinubu to take prompt action to ensure the unconditional release and safe return of other Nigerians abducted in Niger, Kwara, Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Borno and other regions of the country under his watch.
The council said it was intolerable that the corps members remained in captivity.
“Nigerians cannot afford a leadership that is not alive to the primary purpose of government as provided under Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), which is the security and wellbeing of citizens,” it said. Location Reference
The president was called upon to act decisively on insecurity and ensure the return of the abducted corps members and other Nigerians in captivity.
Obi slams kidnapping
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi also decried the abduction and called on the federal government to do everything within its ability to rescue the victims.
In a post yesterday on his verified X Twitter, Peter Obi, former Anambra State governor, claimed the incident was another sign of deteriorating insecurity.
“The kidnapping of about 20 prospective NYSC members on their way to their orientation camp is yet another pathetic indication of the worsening security in our country. These young Nigerians were willing to serve their country but could not travel securely on our roads. Families are increasingly being weighed down by the possibility that their loved ones could be kidnaped.
“The first duty of government is to protect lives and property. We cannot afford to treat insecurity as an everyday occurrence or respond only after people’s lives have been interrupted.
“I call for the immediate and safe rescue of all the abducted corps members and the arrest of the perpetrators. He said: “Nigeria must be a nation where young people can move around, work and serve their country without fear.” The PlaceName
LAUTECH, Sowore respond
The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, also lamented the claimed kidnapping, especially as no fewer than three of its graduates were said to have been kidnaped.
The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Razaq Kalilu, in a statement signed by the institution’s Public and Alumni Relations Unit, asked on security services to make concerted efforts to secure the victims’ release.
“The University is steadfastly with the families affected at this profoundly upsetting time.
“This is a painful and deeply disturbing development for the University and most importantly for the families of our graduates and the other young Nigerians whose lives have been so cruelly disrupted. He stated their safety and safe return to their families was his immediate and main concern.
The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, also commiserated with the families. Kalilu stated, We pray and hope for the safe return of our graduates and all other victims.”
Meanwhile, the African Action Congress’ presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has advocated for the elimination of the NYSC, stating that the scheme had “outlived its usefulness in its current form.”
The activist and politician posted yesterday on X: “You cannot force young Nigerians to ‘serve their fatherland’ while the same country cannot guarantee their safety whilst they travel to their places of service. GeographicalReference
“The NYSC should be abolished forthwith and abolished eventually. Also, all corps members should be allowed to serve in their state of origin.”
Alli wants out
Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State, denounced the abduction and pleaded for the unconditional release of the potential corps members. Alli said the incident was upsetting and said that the young graduates were on their way to do their national duty and not threatening anyone.
Alli said they were living in fear and uncertainty over the fate of their loved ones, and expressed solidarity with the afflicted families. He called on the security authorities to strengthen efforts to identify and rescue the victims securely and implored the captors to respect the sanctity of human life and release them unharmed.
The APC candidate also urged for more security on major inter-state roads, especially those commonly used by prospective corps members and other travellers, to avoid a repeat. He said Nigerians should be free to go for education, work and national service without fear for their lives, praying for the safe return of all the abducted prospective corps members.
“I urge those holding these young Nigerians to free them, unconditionally. They are innocent graduates, sons and daughters of families who are now living in excruciating anguish, worry and anxiety,” Alli said. GeographicReference
“The NYSC was created to foster national unity and integration. “These young people should not become victims in heeding the call to serve their country,” he stressed.
“The perpetrators must realise the sanctity of human life and spare these young Nigerians,” he said. Their families are waiting for them to come home safe,” Alli said.
Security agencies
However, the Imo State Police Command and 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri, claimed on Sunday that operations were on to rescue the kidnaped NYSC personnel.
The Imo State Command Police Spokesperson, DSP Henry Okoye claimed that the security officers were on an operation and were closing in on the victims.
“We are doing the operation and we are closing in gradually,” Okoye said. \”We will keep you posted.\”
Major Hashimu Abdullahi, the Public Relations Officer of the 34 Artillery Brigade, Owerri, said the situation was getting due attention. Abdullahi said all the security agencies were working together to rescue the kidnaped tourists.
Abdullahi said: “Please be rest assured that all necessary efforts are being made in collaboration with all relevant security agencies on the matter. The matter is receiving the attention it deserves and all avenues are being examined to guarantee a favourable ending.
We will keep you posted on any major developments as we find out more.
The Imo State Commissioner of Police, Audu Bosso had claimed on Saturday that the command had identified the area where the kidnaped NYSC men are being held but security officers have held off advancing inside the camp for fear of improvised explosive devices.
He said security forces followed the abductors into the jungle but took caution due to intelligence that the camp had been mined with IEDs. He said the police on Friday employed drones to locate the suspected camp.
“Any minute now we’ll still go into the bush. We were in the bush yesterday; we tracked them to a particular spot. But we couldn’t move in to where the coordinates showed us at that moment in time because we flew drones yesterday. And the drone actually showed us where they were.
“But the situation we have is, we have intel that the camp is IED-mined,” he continued.
“The security agencies are getting ready to move into the area with heavy equipment like bulldozers and armoured personnel carriers to try and rescue the victims safely,” Bosso said.
‘We are going in there with high, high-velocity vehicles, that is, bulldozers. “We will go in with bulldozers and APCs and see how we are going to rescue these victims unhurt,” he said.
Our efforts to reach the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Anietie Iniedu, and Army Public Relations Officer, Col. Appolonia Anele, for their remarks were fruitless as they did not respond to phone calls and texts sent by our correspondent.
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